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Second best drink

After 2 months of being at grandma's and daycare during the day - DD still won't take any EBM. We are going to keep trying (she's really good with a straw cup, but she just won't drink more than half an ounce) but in the meantime I'm worried about her being thirsty or getting dehydrated. Her poops have started getting firmer and are sometimes just one medium sized pellet.

When she gets home we nurse every hour until bedtime ( four sessions on average) and usually once overnight. In the morning we nurse twice before I leave for work. So she's getting a ton of bm with me - but she goes from 7:30-4 without drinking much of anything!

DD will drink juice (duh), she's on and off with water. When can you introduce soy? Would soy milk be a good drink? What might be good to send with her?

Re: Second best drink

What worked for us was really diluted juice (like 25%ish). We just kept diluting it more and more until it was pretty much water. He didn't even seem to notice when it was just water. Now he drinks water primarily, but he likes it really cold and asks for ice all the time.

Beth

Exclusively pumped for Lance Oct 07
Nursed until just before he turned 3 Levi Oct 09

Do you have extra milk? Consider donating!http://www.hmbana.org/:
"So I was welcomed by the consolations of human milk; but it was not my mother or my nurses who made any decision to fill their breasts, but you who through them gave me infant food, in accordance with your ordinance and the riches which are distributed deep in the natural order." -St Augustine

Re: Second best drink

Originally Posted by @llli*sixyearplan

Have you checked your milk to see if it has excess lipase?

I was going to suggest the same thing.

Also, a lot of times babies while just get the majority of the milk they need from mamma. It is normal for a baby not to drink much EBM while away, and then reunited with mamma to make up for lost time. How are wet/dirty diapers and weight gain?

Re: Second best drink

Have you heard of mugicha? It's roasted barley tea--no caffeine--that you can find in Japanese (maybe even regular Asian) supermarkets. My DD isn't crazy about water but she'll drink mugicha. It has a nice toasty kind of flavor and is very refreshing when served chilled. It's also really easy to make and to keep on hand in your fridge.

Re: Second best drink

I'd keep working with her on the BM try spoon feeding or try every - cup - you - can - find OR make momsicles and send those. She's not a year old and needs something more than water juice or soy milk. IF she was a toddler the amount she's getting from you would be sufficient. But she's not.

Re: Second best drink

Originally Posted by @llli*ap9981

Can you develop lipase issues at any time? She always used to take ebm but stopped after she stopped taking a bottle a few months ago

Yes. I successfully pumped and stored milk in the fridge and freezer both for babies #1 and #2 and for a while with baby #3, although he never liked thawed milk. I was also donating excess milk to a friend, and had been doing so for some time after giving her ounces and ounces of stored milk, when suddenly her LO stopped taking my milk, out of the blue. Around the same time, my toddler started saying my milk tasted bad, and my LO would not finish bottles of milk I'd left for him more and more frequently.

It tasted soooooo bad, and after just being stored in the fridge for 48 hours, no kid would drink it. I did a lot of experiments, and if I want to save fresh for my LO, I scald it. To save milk for my friend's baby, I freeze it ASAP; for some reason, the freezing keeps my milk from tasting bad long term, which is counter to most mamas' experiences, which is they thaw milk just to find it tastes and smells bad.

Re: Second best drink

Is she going from 7:30 to 4 with only half an ounce out of the sippie? Or is she willing to drink half an ounce every now and then? What if she is in charge of how much she drinks - just leave the cup where she can get it and drink it if/when she wants?

I agree with pp - Lilah hasn't had anything other than my milk or water to drink and she's going to be one next week. She will also sometimes go a 10.5 hour day only drinking 3 ounces of my milk, but she's not unhappy so I figure she knows what she's doing.

Will your daughter eat cereal or other solids? What my babysitter started doing that got a couple more ounces into Lilah was making a very runny mixture of oatmeal with my milk and feeding that to her. It really worked well when there was another baby there eating cereal too, but now that baby is gone so she's not eating as much.

I think your daughter might be ok calorie wise if you just have them offer her water when she won't drink the milk, if you're worried about dehydration.

Re: Second best drink

So I just reread your post. You're nursing a 10 month old 7 times in a 24 hour period. Isn't that appropriate? I know that she sleeps a longer stretch, but maybe you could do a dreamfeed when you go to bed and get an extra feeding into her?

I know how stressful and nerve-wracking it is when they won't eat and you've pumped all this milk and they only drink the tiniest amount to get by. But now I honestly believe that they won't starve or dehydrate themselves. They are accustomed to being in charge of how much food they take in and it is so much harder for us when we can actually measure their intake.